


Still in the Game

by imladrissun



Category: Arrested Development
Genre: F/M, M/M, future Maeby/George Michael
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-21
Updated: 2017-10-21
Packaged: 2019-01-20 14:07:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12434430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imladrissun/pseuds/imladrissun
Summary: The Bluths may be down at times, but they're never out.





	Still in the Game

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is more of a future look at the Bluths, so s4 is not looming as much here as it might in a fic set in s5.

Gob is very open with his feelings. Even in the beginning, he answers Tony's texts right away, but more importantly he's very clingy in the morning. And a lot of the rest of the time. He doesn't even try to hide it. 

It kind of surprises him, because Gob is sensitive; he doesn't seem to see his emotion as a weakness, though. They start collaborating, and really it's just easier to have him at the house. Gob is always there, a quiet presence in the background. He reads magazines, Clive Cussler paperbacks, watches streaming nature programs on Tony's big tv. He isn't an imposition, he's more like a soothing constant. He doesn't mind if he's interrupted by Tony's admittedly sometimes approaching manic moments. 

He likes to have sandwiches for dinner, and to leave the side door in the living room open to the wind outside. He usually prefers flip flop type sandals to real shoes. Other than that, Gob has a hard time opening up to him. It helps if the room is dark, but usually he doesn't talk about his relatives much. 

Tony doesn't mind taking him to see his; his family is great. Gob even agrees, and gets on well with them. He is also very thoughtful at odd times. 

He takes the vitamins Tony gets for him without complaint; he seems to have a very low energy level, which Tony doesn't mind, but he doesn't want him to not try something potentially beneficial, either. While they are open with their relationship [though Gob prefers to just 'touch hands' in public, or in front of other people], Tony knows better than to broach the topic of the Bluth family. They are a terrible spectre. 

He's seen them on the news, in the paper, and in Gob's stories as well, but his actual desire to meet them is below sea level. Gob is very on board. They seem to only bring him grief. He can never live up to what they want, from what Tony can gather, and they never appreciate when he does try to do something for them. It's lose-lose. 

Tony's family was rather close to scraping by when he was young, but they were a unit, a loving group. They supported each other. He sees now, for the first time how lucky he is, when he grasps how rich the Bluths are. (They finally recovered from their last company scandal, and Michael is back in charge, with his father in a supervisory role). 

Gob thinks nothing of money, but is happy to eat random bits of food anyway. He gets quite lean sometimes, and it almost worries Tony to see it. In one of the latest attempts by Michael to apologize for whatever has been happening in that garbage disposal of a family, Gob gets a boat. He says it's better than the last one, shrugging, to Tony's surprise. Gob lives on the boat sometimes, but the other days he stays at his house. 

He can't imagine someone giving him anything like that, and he is an actual celebrity. To him shopping is special thing, a reward, something fun; to Gob it's much less than that. He doesn't get the same excitement out of it. 

Women still flirt with Gob, and he'd thought he was rather experienced in the bedroom, but it turns out not to be true. He's very shy, likes to kiss, and seems very different than what he'd expected.

Tony has only really met two Bluths in depth: a girl, and a boy. They don't seem to question Gob's status as 'living with him', which he likes, but it's possible they haven't noticed. They come over to get their uncle's advice for some reason. 

Gob is often eager to please, generous, and light-hearted, but an excellent advice giver he is not. He has good creative ideas about illusions and what Tony should try next, but these kids are looking for complicated advice--so Tony offers his perspective, but is always not totally up to date on the latest problems and/or scandals of the group. 

And those two kids seem to talk about each other at length, for some reason. Tony's sure he's missing something. 

All this comes to a head when Tony meets George Michael outside the door of Gob's parents' apartment. "You're here for Gob?," he says, as if he already knows that. Tony can tell that the boy knows he's with Gob. It's something in his tone. An italicized 'with', which worries him, but he says nothing about it.

"They're in there," George Michael continues, tone full of dread. "Having an intervention." 

Tony's not sure why this is an issue, but it sounds terrible from the way he's intonating it. Gob was supposed to be back quite a few hours ago from going on a [Segway enhanced] walk on the boardwalk to get a frozen banana. He's not usually one to go off without sending a text explaining things, which results in Tony getting a lot of crazy, yet thoughtful, texts. 

He's been doing something with some niece of his, but Tony hadn't pried into it. Gob is already very open, there's no need for him to force himself into every facet of his life. Even if he sometimes wants to. 

There's a hand on his arm, and George Michael warns him, "Brace yourself. This is a Bluth event."

Tony feels himself getting anxious in spite of himself. He'd only come here after Gob didn't answer his phone; when he checked the GPS on it, he found it was here. It's turning out to be more ominous than he expected. 

They head in, cautiously, only to find Christmas carols blasting, Michael playing the piano terribly and everyone is drunk. At first he doesn't see Gob, he's not in plain view. There's also a distracting spectacle of Buster and Lindsay playing beer pong with spirits instead. It appears to be some type of strip poker situation, so he forces his eyes away. 

He finds Gob on the balcony dancing with the aforesaid niece. They have more music out there on a little boombox, modern holidays songs. It's Musgraves' 'Ribbons and Bows'. It's a lovely night out. Gob looks happy and loose-limbed. Tony can't help but be concerned with Gob's state of health. 

His emotional health, too. He is way too involved in craving his family's approval; Tony has tried to protect him from that piece of himself. He knows what it feels like to never be perfect enough. It makes everything feel worthless. 

Gob seems fine when he comes up to him; but his attempt to abscond with a drunk boyfriend are hampered by George Michael seeing that the niece is out on the balcony as well. "Maeby, what you doing?" It was a much too accusatory voice, in Tony's opinion, but he got Gob's attention and beckoned him to follow. 

"I can do whatever I want to," the niece said back, angry as well, and thank heavens for Gob's surprised look and shrug as he left the narrow space with him. 

"This isn't you," George Michael protested, but her response was lost on Tony as he got Gob past his parents, who were apparently trying to fight each other with decorative pillows while laughing like they were high. 

In the hall, they encountered Tobias -- he wasn't quite sure who he was exactly, but there was some type of family connection -- who was returning from getting more ice. "Gob, here's your ice, how do you want it?" Gob perked up at that, but Tony dragged him away, affronted. "He's taken!" he yelled back at the strange little man.

He packed Gob into the car, careful to put the seat in recline so he'd feel more comfortable. Gob was a lounger. He clicked his seat over him awkwardly, and peeled out. 

"Do you see the drinks?" Gob slurred, but fell asleep once the car was going at a steady speed. Tony never did see what they had gotten into.


End file.
